02/16/07: Let Them Eat Jellybeans review
Everyone's favorite punk/indie/??? news site, Punk News Dot Org has put up a review of the classic (and VERY out-of-print) Alternative Tentacles "Let Them Eat Jellybeans" compilation. Read the comments from the 'Org's readers, including the Mail Male, about the impact and history and likelihood of it being repressed.

02/05/07: Mass e-mail glitch- sorry!
We had a one-time glitch in our mass e-mail program on Friday, resulting in multiple copies of the e-mail being sent out. We apologize and the problem's been fixed. Hope you all enjoyed the hot news & sales in the e-mail!Rock on and again, we're sorry about the glitch!- Jesse/AT Mail Male

02/03/07: 924 Gilman Flick is Bat-bound!
It looks like Alternative Tentacles will be releasing the dvd version of the long-awaited "924 Gilman" film directed by Fifteen's Jack Curran and his Scarred Films outfit. The documentary includes interviews with tons of people, including Jello Biafra, Ian MacKaye, Rancid, Offspring, Jesse Michaels, author Wendy-O-Matik, & your AT Mail Male Jesse Luscious. There's also many live performances, including Operation Ivy, Fleshies, Pansy Division, Screeching Weasel, The Frisk, and Ted Leo And The Pharmacists. Some of the proceeds will go directly to the 924 Gilman collective.

The release date of the dvd is to be determined, but the official World Premiere of the finished version of the 86 minute documentary will be at this year's San Francisco Noise Pop Festival on Saturday March 3rd, 2007!

01/12/07: Alternative Tentacles closed Monday 1/15/07
It's Martin Luther King Jr Day here in the US, which is a national holiday. We will be open again on Tuesday 1/13/07. Check out audio, video, and text versions of King's famous 1963 "I Have A Dream" speech.

01/09/07: RIP Wes Robinson
East Bay jazz, metal, and punk promoter Wes Robinson died 12/27/06 at the age of 80. He began booking jazz in NYC in the 1960s (he gave 'Pharoah' Saunders his nickname and booked both Alice and John Coltrane). When he returned to his native East Bay, he continued booking jazz and theater. In the early 1980s he began booking punk shows at Ruthie's Inn, a small bar on San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley. Along with the Keystone & the Berkeley Square, it was one of the only consistent pre-924 Gilman punk-friendly venues in the East Bay. Bands as varied as the Dead Kennedys, Bad Brains, Dicks, DRI, Metallica, Fang, MDC, and Flipper played Ruthies through the late 1980s. In fall of 2006, a "Ruthie's Reunion" show in West Oakland drew hundreds of people and featured bands like Fang, Verbal Abuse, MDC, Fuck Ups, Bad Posture, and many more.

More information about Wes's life and legacy can be found in his Berkeley Daily Planet obituary. A memorial service open to all is happening this Saturday 1/13/07 at Geoffrey's Inner Circle, 410 14th St., Oakland. 510-384-4988 for more information.

12/28/06: 924 Gilman turns 20!?!924 Gilman is the all ages volunteer run arts space in Berkley, CA. This New Year's Eve is the 20th Anniversary of the very first show @ Gilman on December 31, 1986. To celebrate this milestone, there's 4 days of great shows & various activities at Gilman:

__Thursday 12/28 free
7PM-9PM
Panel Discussion (snacks and non-alcoholic drinks provided)
The discussion is about Gilman's place in the local art scene, past, present, future, what it is, and, um, whatever the audience wants to talk about. Panelists include Kamala (who discovered the current site of Gilman in 1986), Zarah (ex-coordinator 1995-2000), Ben (ex head of security 2000s), Pat Wright (handyman/gadfly throughout), and Jesse Luscious (Secretary 1991-2005). Moderator will be Dan W.

__Sunday 12/31
10AM-2PM
free- Record Swap! Thrash, hardcore, garage, punk, new Wave, ???. If you want a table for selling, they are Full table = $20, 1/2 Table = $15. To reserve a table, please e-mail gilmanrecordswap@gmail.com If you just have a few things Walk -ins are welcome! Load in for sellers is at 9:30 AM
2PM-on
Basketball, Chess, Hangin' Out, who knows?!

924 is at the corner of Gilman/8th Street. The #9 bus from Berkeley BART or the 72/73 along San Pablo will get you there, or you can take the Gilman Street exit off of I-80 & head towards the hills.
All events are all ages, drug & alcohol free. Events with door prices require an annual membership card ($2 @ door).
http://www.924gilman.org show info line: 510-525-9926

12/21/06: Buzzkill rocks Jersey Friday!
That's right, Joisey's finest Buzzkill are rockin' the Garden State this Friday at The Court Tavern in New Brunswick, NJ. This rare show by these reclusive AT snarlers also features Dirtnap Records "It Band" The Ergs.

12/20/06: Democracy Now/AT three-fer!
That's right, you can check out 3 of AT's spoken word artists- Noam Chomsky, Robert Fisk, and Howard Zinn- on today and the last 2 days of Democracy Now, hosted by Amy Goodman. All extensive excerpts of recent talks feature mp3s, transcripts, and podcast versions available for free at the links below. Dig in!

Howard Zinn on the uses of history in the War on Terror.Noam Chomsky on Latin America, the Iraq Study Group, and more.Robert Fisk on the Iraq Study Group and more.Robert Fisk giving keynote address to Muslim Public Affairs Council about injustice and Muslims.

12/07/06: Credit Cards are BACK!
Our site is now repaired enough to accept new credit card orders! Now you can order on-line again via American Express, Discover, Mastercard, and Visa, as well as Paypal, money orders, international money orders, and checks drawn on US$.

All pending phone orders will be processed asap, and new orders are a go! All old credit card orders which haven't been charged yet are still on hold, sorry. Hopefully we'll get to the bottom of that soon.

12/02/06: Dirk Dirksen Memorial Today
Dirk Dirksen, legendary San Francisco promoter and force of nature, passed away Monday night, November 20th, 2006. All of us here at Alternative Tentacles are extremely grateful that we were able to work with him and- in Jello's case- play many shows for him at the Mabuhay. Our condolences to his family and friends.

12/01/06: Anti-Corporate Film Festival Starts Now!
The 2006 Anti-Corporate Film Festival runs from tonight, December 1st, through Sunday December 3rd at the Victoria Theatre, 2961 16th Street (at Mission Street, across from BART), San Francisco, CA.

Who said an anti-corporate film festival has to be serious, preachy, or (dare we say) boring? Well, it sure wasn't the folks organizing the CounterCorp Festival, which launches its inaugural
year with a series of movies chock full of action, intrigue,
activism, crime (real and alleged), violence, and yes, even humor.

Check out their website for ticket and show time information. Among the festival's flicks, there's "The Forest for the Trees," "PIRATE RADIO USA," "Alternative Freedom," "SEVERANCE," and "THE FUTURE OF FOOD"!

11/29/06: All 2006 releases are $2 off!
You may have noticed this already in the list of hot hot hot vinyl and compact discs on our front page, but here\\\'s the details:

To celebrate our return to internet world, we\\\'re taking $2 off of everything Alternative Tentacles released this year! From Jello Biafra to 16 Horsepower to Nardwuar to I Object to Nausea to Michael Parenti to Akimbo to The Subhumans to Disaster Strikes and on and on, until the break of dawn... Dawn, that is, of Monday December 4th 2006!

Order on-line by then, or have your postal mail order postmarked by 12/4/06 and you will be eligible for these prices!

11/28/06: We\'re Back!
Sorry for the last 13 days of Bat-Less Internet! We\\\'re back, but only partially. Right now we can only accept PAYPAL orders- but soon we\\\'ll be able to accept all of the regular credit cards we accepted before. You can always fax, phone, or mail us your credit card information if you want to place an order, or send us a money order, check, or international money order drawn on US$. All the information is on our FAQ site!

Until then, our website is Paypal only!

11/23/06: Fill your head tomorrow morning!
Tune into KALW's Your Call Radio Show for a special post-Thanksgiving broadcast of the intense new Robert Fisk cd on Alternative Tentacles/AK Press!

As you're recovering from feeding your stomach Thursday, you can feed your mind with his on-the-scene insights on the Middle East Friday morning!